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Ben's Week In Review: July 29

Summer can be really boring. I don't know why the fourth and first quarters have to be so freakin' nuts...game makers need to spread things out so I'm not suffering at certain parts of the year. I'm preparing already.

Still not sure how I feel about Revengeance

To be honest, I'm actually surprised it's coming. Props to Platinum for finishing it, and I really hope the collaboration between Kojima Productions and the Bayonetta/Vanquish developer turns out awesome. It also seems like we're closing in on a finalized release date; the latest evidence is hinting at a February launch. The way time passes for me these days, that's like tomorrow. I think my problem is that I keep wanting it to be Metal Gear Solid 5 when it clearly isn't; they removed the "Solid" from the title so we MGS fans don't get confused.

Yes, I know it's just a spin-off. I know we can expect a true new MGS at some point. But "Metal Gear" is enough to make me hesitate at the all-out action format being presented in Metal Gear Rising. I'm also not sure what I want to see. Do I want a God of War style of gameplay? Or do I want it even faster and flashier like Devil May Cry? But maybe my biggest question involves the story: When it comes to anything "Metal Gear," I want a great story. Will I get that here...?

Not sure I agree there, Jade

For the record, I like Jade Raymond. She has proven herself in this industry; she helped create one of my favorite new IPs of the generation, Assassin's Creed, and she often has great ideas. This cutie is no dummy. However, after reading what she said about the future of gaming, I have to say I think she's losing sight of a few things. Saying traditional controllers are holding us back, and that it's "more natural" not to use a standard gamepad is a little strange. Outside of Kinect (which I've used and find very imprecise), interactive entertainment has revolved around timed button presses for the sake of accuracy.

I understand the forward-thinking mindset, which is clearly what Raymond has embraced. But the human body is incredibly erratic when compared to the perfect precision of a command entered by a computer. There's no avoiding that, no matter how advanced technology becomes. And I don't know what she means by "more natural." It's only "natural" if it's something we've done before, or something our body would normally do without constraints. ...and I'm not sure that applies in the fantasy world of video games. We'd still have to train our bodies in the same way we trained our fingers, and it'd be a lot tougher.

Rainbow Moon. That's about it. The only thing that bugs me about the game is that money is a little too hard to come by. Unlike most RPGs, where you get experience and money upon completing an encounter, you actually only get experience. Coins are sometimes left as rewards by foes, and they can be found hanging around the world map, but that's not consistent. Because you need a consistent flow of both EXP and cash, I don't think luck should factor into the gathering of either. I mean, there can be some luck, but it's really annoying to go three or four battles, get zero money, and have to spend items or cash to heal party.

But other than that, it's pretty great. I'm also back to tooling around on the Vita until Sleeping Dogs and Darksiders II get here, which should be soon.

Yeah, it is number 2 on my most proud Platinum list. SPLATTERHOUSE is still number 1.....Shadow of the Wickerman Challenge still haunts me even after I conquered it! :)

Sorry you have to wait for you Vita. Just know that it's a must own system. I for one have not noticed the often mentioned lack of games. I have more games to play than I have time to play them. What a great bundle to get though! ACIII Liberation and the Vita is pure Platinum by itself.

Well, it was just that you had to beat Shadow of the Wickerman Challenge in under 26 min to get the S Rank. I cannot tell you how many times I was right around 26-27 but couldn't get it. There were so many times I couldn't get past the 10 min mark. It was just super hard. It's frantic finesse bloody game play at it's best. The control made the game for me. It made it easy to pull off all the moves. Otherwise the game would have been impossible. Oh man, those little Glowing Blue Ghouls were so hard and can 1 hit kill you!

SPLATTERHOUSE is my dark horse surprise gem of this generation. When I bought it out of nostalgia because of the old games I figured it was going to suck. I was so wrong! It just did a lot of things right and it was pretty long. I cannot remember how many hours, maybe 35 because of the S Rank Challenges. The best part about it was that I got it off Amazon for $10 new! :)Last edited by CrusaderForever on 7/29/2012 5:05:54 PM

I want to play Revengeance. I'm actually really looking forward to it. Virtual Reality wise, I think ultimately Jade may have the right idea, where and when we actually have Star Trek Holodeck-like tech at a mass marketed level... if and when. I think when we can move and behave naturally and accurately in a simulated reality do I see something worthwhile. And even then, I see some sort of neuro-connection to go along with everything else... But as things are now, or even in the foreseeable future, we're not even close to such an experience. And even then, I don't think it'll replace the sort of gaming we have now, just another branch in interactive entertainment.

PGU: VF5: FS has been center stage, once again, this week. I'm at the point with Akira where I need to start looking more closely at his timing attributes and looking into youTube demos of his more advanced combos. I've got some decent stuff down and I hold a reasonably good fight. I fight everyone and anyone as long as the conn isn't terrible. I encountered a high level AKira last night. I like facing off with these guys because I can pick up on their tactics. Anyhow, I fought an insane Wolf as well. He worked me pretty hard. My encounter with him made me envious of playing as Wolf. Maybe I'll start learning him some more. At the least, I'll better understand fighting against him and his many grapples.

Other than that, been briefly oogling over the graphics of some of my PC games. Crysis 2 DX11 maxed is drop dead insane. I can't imagine the next-gen being all that more improved over what I'm seeing here. Apparently, BF3 is next-gen passable as well, at least by the estimation of some game critics, like Gamespot's, I think.Also, gotta give props to ibuypower dot com. I have no idea how these guys make money because it would've costed me more to get the system I did through buying my parts all from Newegg today, and without a 3 year warranty or somebody constructing it and testing it and shipping it. (i added it up to compare, same parts and everything)

i recently got the platinum for skyrim. love the game. it is so addicting. for now im gonna stay away from playing it more just so the gf doesnt complain.

right now i am working on getting the platinum for L.A. noire. i have one trophy left to get which i would have had but i had to spend my day getting a new tire put on the family car when someone stabbed it. by the time i was home we were going to leave to go on vacation. so the plan is when i get home from vacation to get the last trophy and get my platinum.

got the gf playing tales from space: mutant blobs attack. after i finished playing it and realized how fun it is. i really wish it were longer or there was another one.

thanks i am proud of that one as far as platinums go. i could have had it sooner but skyrim has a way of side tracking you. im gonna be proud of the la noire one also.

also there is the trophy for the daedric artifacts. one of them you have to get a follower and take them to this place to sacrifice them. i chose to take my wife and sacrifice her since there is no way to divorce and i wanted a new wife. not even sure if it works or not. i read some where that you will get a letter delivered to you that will say your not married any more.

Still playing Final Fantasy IV. I dunno why I feel the need to replay my PS2 games. It must be that I refuse to get old. Starting with Omnimusha and Xenosaga. Can't play too much cause the olympics are on.

I was digging through my cable cord box the other day and I happened upon some PS2 component video cables. This made the inkling for getting a PS2 on the cheap a little more desireable. Right now it's the only way for me to access arcade code of Tekken 3. Tekken 5 has the arcade ROM data offered as bonuses. The arcade version had a bit more geometric complexity and better quality sound effects. BEsides that, it'd allow me to check out some games that never make the PS2 to PS3 jump. Having read some stuff at the Digital Foundry about PS2 emulation on PS3, it looks pretty improbable we'll ever see 100% compatibility between the then and now on PS3 =(Last edited by Temjin001 on 7/28/2012 10:25:44 PM

when you get over the fact that its changed so much, forget the original gameplay trailers and remember it was either this or it gets cancelled im really looking forward to rising.yea what was shown off all those years ago looked SO much better!but hey, its either this or nothing so ill choose nothing!its still allot more tactical and stealth based than any other action game out there, so ill take it!come to think of it this is probably the closest thing to the original ninja games like shinbido and tenchu will ever see!so sad to see how the tenchu series ended, i use to absolutely love those games!spent many, many hours with tenchu on my ps1.......:(

jades right though, shes saying that the controller is a barrier to allot of people, which it is.allot of people cant pick up a controller for the first time and just start playing, its really confusing and hard to remember which buttons do what.its amazing how many people refuse to understand that, just because its second nature to them, its second nature because you have spent so many years learning it!but i honestly dont see the problem.this is what really pisses me off about the industry these days.everything has to cater to everyone.the controllers are blocking out 10% of the worlds population, that is the end of the world we have to change it!why?you still have 90% of the worlds population available why is that not enough?its the greed of this industry that is driving me f*cking insane!and driving people out of the industry!my hobby and passion has turned into a chore!games USE to be made to push the envelopes of technology, tell a story and frankly just have FUN!sadly however all developers see these days is $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.exactly why i keep saying if the industry keeps going the way its going, driven for more and more money instead of innovation and experiences, this gen will be my last!

finally ordered my alienware laptop so it should be here on the 8th just in time for darksiders 2 and sleeping dogs!now i gotta try find a store that still has the collectors edition of darksiders 2 available, i had my preorder for the ps3 version and sadly everyones sold out now.i started inversion a few days ago, this is a prime example of why you need to finish a game before reviewing it!my god does it change!first half i was actually pretty impressed with.theres heaps of environmental destruction, allot more than most games offer!the first mission for instance your tasked with bringing a whole building down with a turret by shooting the support beams.i was really impressed, most games dont let you do that!you can blow out a wall, or a small piece of cover, but not bring a whole building down!theres heaps of enemy variety too, the weapons are fun to use, and the gravity mechanics are really cool and fun to use!but about half way through the game it takes a massive turn for the worse, and every single god dam level has like 3 boss battles and there cheap as f*ck!hurl 100000 grenades to kill one boss, and if you get hit once your dead!hows that fair?gives a whole new extreme to the word cheap!its a shame, its like the developers played through half the game and went oh sh*t it only took that long!?ok we have to throw in heaps of boss battles to slow people down.dunno why either because its not like its short, i mean im about 3/4s of the way through now and its taken me 8 hours.thats pretty long for shooter standards these days!its a shame the developers did what they did, and its a shame they did not take the gravity mechanics further.there the standard ho hum features every gravity defying game has given us!just feels after all these years theres something more we can do with it!oh well, at least the story was pretty good.characters were quite compelling and relateable too which was a shock for a shooter!i was expecting your stereotypical american goons, IE gears, but there not they really feel like just a pair of normal humans trying to survive.its so frustrating though, as i said before every game this year has been meh.we have not had any bad games, well not many, but we have not had any awesome games either!there all awesome concepts really poorly executed!why?why does everything feel like it was rushed, half developed, could of been so much better?to be honest theres nothing more disappointing than a decent game but could of been so much better, than a down right awful game!why does everything have to feel as if it was cut from a smaller stone of greatness?inversions the same, it is not a bad game by any means.just broken, and frustrating as hell!but its so disappointing because instead of having a down right bad game, you have a ok game that could of, and should of done oh so much more!it just seems like developers are happy with mediocrity this year.........

I'm alot more excited about Rising after seeing the E3 trailer a month ago. It really looks like the story is coming together, especially with the references to Raiden's child soldier history. At least they aren't ignoring the previous titles (I hate when games do that).

I don't like the idea of no controllers, it just seems weird.

PGU: I've been playing RDR, and doing a complete MGS story run to celebrate the upcoming MGS4 trophy patch. Finished MGS2 today, now i am waiting for the patch to arrive :)

PS: The patch is coming in august. The exact date hasn't been given, but i expect it will arrive within the first week or two of august.Last edited by Fox hounder on 7/29/2012 3:28:15 AM

Yeah, its hard to wait. I've been dying to do a story run of MGS4 again. But it will definitely be worth the wait to have MGS4 finally show up on my trophy list. Plus with the Full Install, my story run will go much faster and more smoothly.Last edited by Fox hounder on 7/29/2012 2:22:04 PM

The original MGS:R by Konami looked awesome. It had a blend of stealth and over-the-top action. This sounds pretty slick, but I think we're better off with the direction that Platinum games has taken it. They are confirming it as an action game. Blending the two genres sounds like fun, but with the way JRPGs have gone this gen it's just not worth the risk. I consider MGS:R to be a pseudo squeal to Vanquish. An don't we all want a V2?

PGU: In actual MGS news. I'm up to Guns of the Patriots. Yeah I couldn't wait for trophies. The series has had emblems well before trophies and achievements were a thing anyways. Can't wait to see what that new fox engine is up to. Threw an hour or two at minecraft yesterday. Who would have thought a maze would take this much time. Also been playing Twisted Metal 2 on the PSP. So many good times. I wish it was pre 2000 again. This is the reason why I had to go with TM over StarHawk for an onliner.

MGR doesn't worry me too much because it feels likes it's been ages since I've played a hack n'slash title - in my eyes that's the only experience I see in it. (So I'll be delightfully suprised if we get more than just good gameplay).

PGU: Since finishing DD I've been in portugal for the last two weeks. When I got back I played some of the new maps from the ME3 earth DLC. The summer drought has hit me pretty hard but August 14th isn't too far away (Darksiders 2!)

A controller is the best method for controlling a game. Yes it is second nature to people doing it for a long time but it was never second nature to anyone who didn't practice it. I have seen friends of mine and even my father get good using a controller in a relatively short period of time. One of the first reflexes humans develop is grip and hand patterns. Learning the nuances of a game pad takes practice but it can become second nature to anyone.

It bothers me because its all heading into that direction of people not having to learn and earn anything anymore.

Is it so terrible that we have to learn how to do something new? I'm not good at lacross the barrier of entry is too hard, lets change the sticks because I can't cradle and catch because its not natural to me....

Thats what this whole thing sounds like to me at least. If my dad can learn how to use a controller, and believe me it was agonizing to watch him in the beginning, you know one of those people who couldn't hold the run button AND jump in super mario world....heck he couldn't even move and jump. Well if he can learn and get better then by golly anyone can.

I'd hate to have to use my body as a controller, I'm lazy and I love my controller. Maybe Jade is just working on a Kinect project.

I'm powering to the end of Mass Effect 2 just so I can finally start 3. I bought Rainbow Moon because of the discount but I didn't get very far, I have to try to make some time for it. Seemed sorta simplistic.

I have to disagree with Jade, "nothing beats the outdoors for free cardio Miss." but yah, it's fun to have these gadgets around with family and friends to gather around and enjoy the smiles and laughs.

PGU: Over the week I picked up Resistance: Fall of Man for 3.57 and Madden 12 for 4.25. Got Resistance 3 two days ago from GF. Trying to get a Plat for "The Amazing Spider-Man" and getting closed. Already on pace to get the "On the Fly" trophy. I would got my first plat for Ghostbusters but there are trophies for the multiplayer side of the game. And when I switch over to play multiplayer two things happen 1.no one is on and 2. when I do find someone they either quit during the game or they allow themselves to get beat down by ghost.

Cool, That was one of the reasons I bought The Amazing Spider-Man this week. On the Fly looks like a lot of fun. So far I am pretty impressed. The web rush sets the game apart. Good luck with that Platinum!

i want to pick up ghostbusters and play it again. i will play it with you if you want. i dont have it yet but i do plan on adding it to the collection. let me know if you want to play it together. im frylock25 on psn and ill pick it up sooner than later if you want to go after the multiplayer trophies

That would be cool I think you can pick Ghostbusters up dirt cheap now. When I was at Gamestop looking for Resistance 1 I found a few games that were mark low. I might pick up X-Men Origins: Wolverine(12 bucks) because I'm close to plat in that too. Fighting Ryan Reynolds on Normal was tough fighting him on Hard is going to be a decent challenge.

BTW my PSN ID is jclive2009.

@CrusaderForeverHave you had any chance to do some Spider-suit hunting? I found classic black suit, negative zone suit, big time suit,Future Foundation suit and Scarlet Spider suit. Not sure why they count the suit without the belt as another suit. As for On the Fly once you top 500 they give you dots to find the other 200.

No, not yet, but I will. I bought the game so my son could swing around the city. He loves it and is already doing web rush! I am really enjoying the game but I am heavily into ACII right now. I want to get ACII done before ACIII. Just got AC Revelations for $10 from Best Buy online with free shipping.

It's cool that they give connecting dots to find the final 200. Collecting is my passion for sure. I am 1 day away from getting Platinum 13 with LEGO Batman 2 PS3. This game a collector's dream! It's a great game, my son and I have a blast, bring on LEGO LOTR!!!!!! Once I am done with ACII I will be swinging into The Amazing Spider-Man.

@CrusaderForeverWeb rush does help get around faster and it helps a lot during those race challenges. I kinda do like how they change the villains origins. Just wished there was a couple Peter Parker missions. I should check out Best Buy anytime I buy a game online it's either with Amazon or GF.

@Frylock25 That would be cool just drop a line and I clear up space on my harddrive(still working with the 40gb harddrive).